Veteran’s Day, 2012

Yes, it is coming up. Sunday, November 11. Since we moved to Europe, WWII is brought more to mind here, EVERYDAY, rather than once a year as it is for many Americans. (Not that I think Veteran’s day is only about WWII vets) And this Veteran’s Day I have decided that I should do something more than just go Awww, I should do something.

So what am I going to do? Well in this past year, at least 3 WWII vets that I knew died. And I never once said ‘Thank you’. So this year, I am writing to my last remaining male relative that fought in WWII and thanking him. But then as I thought about it, I realized, but what about my Aunts, the ladies who sent their husbands, sweethearts, brothers off to war. What of them? They deserve thank you letters too. So I will write to them also.

And I am really, really am, going to go to the WWII war cemetery that is about 5 miles down the road and lay some flowers. Yes, I know that it is British. And I know that most of the folks buried there are actually from India. But you know what? How many folks from India do I see here? Not many. And just as total strangers to me are going to go to Arlington National Cemetery, where both of my parents are buried, and lay flowers and remember, many thousands of miles away, I will go to a British Cemetery on Italian soil, filled with soldiers from India and lay flowers and remember and thank them silently for their sacrifice. Because I know, that if all those folks, so many years ago, had not picked up and done something this whole world would look a whole lot different than it does today.

As an American, I know that I have the freedoms, education and sense of worth that I have only because others before me have fought for these things. So if you have a relative that fought in a WWII or any war, I would ask of you to go give them a hug and say Thank You or drop them a note. It is only too late to do that when we forget to do it at all. Veteran’s Day really is something more than a day off from work.